Across the Stars
by MAmidala
Summary: Chapters/sections labeled "present" are set three years before Thor (2011 film) takes place / AU / Rated-T for romance and violence / Loki/OC
1. Prologue

This may or may not be crap, but I'm posting it anyway.

I don't own Star Wars or Thor.

I only claim right to non-canon characters.

Credit for the title goes to my lovely friend Danica!

Enjoy! :)

* * *

Coruscant, home of the Jedi, housed one trillion under the monarchy of Queen Evanneis for thirty years up until this day, on which she would step down from the throne and hand it down to her eldest daughter. The city-world was just that—nothing but city; there was not one plant, tree, or pond to be found 'less it was artificially created for purposes of meditation or leisure.

Fourth-closest to Asgard in Yggdrasil, Coruscant's race of Jedi were widely regarded as the most peaceful race in the Ten Realms. Their usage of the Force, an energy field that binds the universe together, so their texts say, brings them power, serenity, and the ability to protect and serve their Queen against their enemies with swiftness and accuracy. Channeling the Force's power through a long period of training gives them the abilities of telekinesis, physical empathy, advanced healing and durability, and unparalleled wisdom among many other things even the High Council, the group of Jedi Masters that lead and supervised the respective paths all Jedi would take in their training and otherwise, has yet to discover.

But there were always two sides to this power the Jedi used, and not all users were Jedi. Out of the trillion citizens of Coruscant, there were always two who utilized the dark side of the Force rather than the light. The Rule of Two: there is always a master and an apprentice at any given time, never more and never less. When there comes a time for a Sith Master to die or for their apprentice to overpower them, the apprentice becomes the master and finds a student to train in the dark ways, and so the cycle continues and has for millennia. It is always a tragedy when a Jedi falls to the dark side, as all Jedi are connected as one and are, for lack of better terms, family in one way or another. Be it through blood, love, or friendship, all Jedi were each other's family and looked after each other with care and kindness, as was their way.

When it was discovered by the High Council that a Jedi had fallen to the dark ways, the entire population mourned. The path to the dark side was an easy one to unintentionally follow. The fear of loss, something all beings have in them, was the road most traveled. Be them afraid to lose their love, a family member, a friend, or anything they hold dear, they would seek out the dark side and its promise of power to save that which they fear to lose, and through manipulation and seduction the fearful Jedi will fall, and their eyes will turn hollow and angry, their skin cold and pale, and their soul damaged beyond repair.

In the end, they almost always lost what they wanted so badly to save: either they wound up destroying it themselves with their greed and lust for more power, or or it ran from them, scared of what they had become and what they would do.

No Sith had ever turned back to the light. Not yet. Not in Coruscant's twenty-five thousand years of recorded history had it ever been seen. These Sith were the ones whom wished to overthrow the monarchy that ruled Coruscant, but the Jedi never failed to protect their city-world from their promise of darkness and evil.

However, now, today, as Queen Evanneis plans to reveal her descension from the throne of Coruscant, the threat of the Sith grows larger as the Rule of Two is broken. Her eldest daughter, a respected and well-known practitioner of the light side and former apprentice to the Grand Master Luke Skywalker, is in line to take her place. The rightful heir to Coruscant, Vervain Ahnnalys is called away from her studies at the North Temple and to the Royal Palace, her place of residence, to receive this news for the first time.


	2. One

Name pronunciation guide:

Evanneis: eh-van-ice

Keda: key-duh

Vervain: ver-vayne

Tano: tahn-oh

Ahnnalys: ahn-all-iss

Coruscant: core-oo-sahnt

I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

"Vee!" a high-pitched call made the blonde start as she made her way across the front terrace of the Palace. She smiled as she saw her younger sister, Keda, racing toward her.

"Hi there," Vervain laughed, accepting the hug she was offered. Not only had she spent the last week exclusively in the Temples training the Younglings, she hadn't seen or spoken to her family in any other means than a hologram in all those seven days. "You seem excited."

"I have every reason to be!" Keda exclaimed, her bright eyes wide as she took her older sister's arm in hers and practically dragged her through the grandiose entrance. "You're finally home again!"

"Mother called me here," Vervain explained, tightening her arm around her sister's. "That's not to say I wouldn't be here otherwise, but it's a reason."

"Oh, why?" Keda's brow furrowed as they walked in tandem across the grand hall, dark blue pillars marbled with gray standing tall on either side of the room, the rest of the place adorned with hues of gold, silver, and green. The pair headed for the wide, winding staircase that would take them to their family's quarters.

The elder shrugged in reply. "I don't know; she wouldn't tell me. It's probably important, knowing her." She cast her sister humorous sidelong look.

The dark blonde laughed, her smile revealing profound dimples on her cheeks. Princess Keda of Coruscant had always looked up to her older sister, always thought her jokes were the funniest of all and thought her the sweetest person she'd ever met. She had even been trained under her for a while, despite their age difference being only two years, which would normally make them on the same level; Vervain reached Knighthood when Keda was still a Padawan despite her age, her exceeding skill in the Force putting her above the pack. The younger didn't mind: she loved her sister with all her heart, and nothing could make her think less of the Knight.

"Everything she has to say has some life-or-death aspect to it, doesn't it?" Keda asked wistfully, swinging her free arm back and forth as they continued to walk.

"Seems to."

"Think this will be any different?" Her Coruscanti accent shaped her words smoothly, took the edges off the syllables, and ultimately made her quiet inquiry sound as soft as silk felt.

"No," Vervain answered simply, her accent mirroring Keda's only slightly more thin. "Mother always has a purpose to calling us in like this. If what she wanted was a casual conversation, she would have done so over hologram. But she didn't."

As the pair entered the House of Ahnnalys in the east wing of the Palace, Keda separated from Vervain and scurried to the library, where she had a half-finished book and hot tea waiting for her. From there, the Jedi Knight searched for her mother through the Force, tracking the sense of her energy to the balcony looking over Coruscant's endless skyline, just off Vervain's chambers. _Why is she here?_

The young blonde made her way to the queen's side, smiling lightly as she leaned languidly on the stone balustrade. "You wanted to see me so urgently, mother?" she prompted.

Evanneis didn't seem to see her daughter coming, didn't seem to feel her through the Force. Her mind had been somewhere else entirely. _She was probably meditating_, Vervain thought as her mother started at her sudden appearance at her side. Unfazed, the heir smiled in amusement. "Sorry," she jokingly apologized.

"Oh, it's fine, dear," Evanneis took her daughter in an embrace and held her tightly for a moment. Pulling away, she looked at her daughter for a silent beat and sighed. "I was just thinking."

Vervain nodded. "I could tell." She breathed out a deep breath as she looked up at the bright midday sky, the sun coming down on the city hard and bright, illuminating the metallic coverings of buildings beautifully. Taking in the scenery, she said, still looking out across the way, "Why did you call me here so urgently?" She looked at her mother now. "I had to leave a class of Younglings with Esmé Ta'Shi, and they absolutely rip her apart." She allowed herself a short chuckle at the memory of Esmé's wide eyes silently protesting Vervain's proposal of taking over the class; she ended up complying without verbal complaint. "You know I could have just talked over hologram."

"Yes," the queen answered smoothly, "but this is something better to hear in person."

Worried now, Vervain put a gentle hand on the soft violet fabric that hung loosely over her mother's upper arm. "What's wrong? Tell me."

"Nothing is wrong, darling," Evanneis chuckled, putting a silken hand over that of her daughter. Looking at her for a very long moment, the unease in the other growing with each passing second, she looked over the beautiful face before her: almond eyes with irises a dark amber-caramel color that practically glowed in the sunlight, a dusting of faint freckles just underneath her eyes and on the bridge of her nose, short sand-blonde bangs over her forehead, a traditional Coruscanti style. _Yes,_ she thought serenely. _The face of a queen. _"I'm stepping down from the throne today." The washing over Vervain's face was bluntly visible. "This evening, I'm going to appear in conference on the HoloNet and announce it."

"You're not serious." She knew why she didn't want her mother to be serious: she would have to take her place. "Mother, I'm not ready—" Her breath caught in her throat and she looked down past the balustrade, down at the ground beneath where citizens roamed peacefully, the happenings up here unbeknownst to them. Looking back desperately at her mother, Vervain shook her head. "Why now? Why today?"

"Because I can't protect Coruscant as you could," Evanneis told Vervain matter-of-factly. "You're a very wise and powerful Jedi for your age, Vervain. And you love this world so dearly."

"I'm seventeen, mother; I can't rule a realm by myself!" Her voice was rising now as she gestured grandly out to the never-ending skyline. "I can't be their queen. I've only just begun training Younglings at the Temples!" Her mother's face softened with something reminiscent of pity. "You're taking that away from me?"

"I am not taking anything away from you, Vervain." Evanneis's hands rested on Vervain's shoulders. "I'm giving you something; I'm passing down an honor that's been in our family for generations. You knew this would come one day—"

"Yes, one day very far from this one!" the blonde exclaimed, throwing her hands out at her sides. She tried to calm herself down, reaching into the Force and dousing icy water on the spark growing inside her. For a few moments, they stood there silently as she let the news sink in. She knew the throne would be passed onto her as she was the firstborn, but she only thought she had more time. Her beloved status as a Knight wouldn't go away—she would still be considered a Jedi Knight for as long as she lived until she reached the level of Master or, gods forbid, turned to the dark side—so why was she fretting?

She knew why: trillions of people would be under her protection because of a hereditary birthright; she would be the youngest Queen of Coruscant the Ten Realms had ever seen; the weight of this realm would be on her shoulders alone 'less she took a King, but that was nary something she wanted.

It was then that Vervain Ahnnalys remembered to ask a very vital question. "Why are you stepping down?" she asked, furrowing her brow. "I don't understand. Thus far in history, every queen has lived their life on the throne." She shook her head confusedly. "Why are you . . ." Her voice trailed off, unsure of where to go.

Evanneis's brown eyes briefly flickered to the stone balcony floor beneath them, coming back up to meet the seemingly luminescent irises of her daughter. "I've held this for thirty years. I've seen conflict, rebels, bloodshed for all those years; I've grown old. The threat of the Sith is rising and I am not fit to continue." Her eyes dug into Vervain as she continued. "You are. You're strong, you're capable of leading a world—leading the race of Jedi to victory over the Sith. Restoring peace." It was a challenge for Vervain to keep her heartbeat at a healthy pace as Evanneis's hands took places on either of the young Jedi's cheeks. "I can feel it: you'll be a better queen than I ever was."

This statement sent Vervain's mind reeling. _A _better_ queen? Impossible_. "Mother, Coruscant has never seen a better queen than you." Now she smiled, mostly out of skepticism.

"Until now."

She sobered, her smile fading and her eyes traveling back to the cityscape. She moved away from her mother's hands and leaned on the balustrade, exhaling deeply and letting this load of information settle in her mind. As of tonight, she would be deemed Coruscant's youngest queen in its history, and in at least a couple of days she would be crowned, making it official.

There would be interviews on the HoloNet.

She would no longer teach at the many Jedi Temples scattered about Coruscant, but tend to the needs and conflicts and safety of the trillion people worldwide.

News would spread throughout the connected Ten Realms, as it did whenever a new leader was established anywhere.

Leader. Monarch. Queen. Ruler. Sovereign. No matter how much she racked her brain for a synonym that was less frightening, it wasn't possible.

"I heard yelling."

Both ladies turned around to the wide doorway leading back into Vervain's chambers, in the frame of which stood Keda, looking curiously at her mother and sister. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," they both answered, unintentionally in sync. In a brief beat of humor, they shared a look and small smiles.

"I'm stepping down from the throne this evening," Evanneis told Keda, whose hand cupped over her mouth as it dropped open.

"You are?" she breathed, her eyes darting back and forth between mother and sister. "That means you'll be queen!"

Vervain smiled lightly and nodded. "I guess it does," she said, her opinion on this matter softened at the reaction her sister gave.

The two exchanged an embrace then, but through all the happy celebrating of Keda, all Vervain could think about was the years—many, many years— that were to come.

* * *

The coronation took place two standard days after Evanneis revealed her descension via HoloNet. In the short video, posted on the worldwide network of communication and endless information, she sat beside her daughter, explaining her reasoning for stepping down and announcing that, per tradition, the throne would pass down to her eldest and closest kin, Vervain Ahnnalys.

"_I've come to realize that I cannot do what must be done in order to prevent the Sith threat from growing and eventually overpowering us completely, and that my daughter can. A renowned Jedi, and __a proud Coruscanti, her people will be in good hands—_you_ will be in good hands. Our realm is safe with her, and she will do what is necessary to put an end to the Sith, as well as carry on her duties throughout her life as her term progresses. Soon she shall pass the throne down unto another, but until __then, take shelter in her shadow, and know that as long as she rules as your queen, Coruscant will be safe._"

At the time, and, quite frankly, now, Vervain thought her mother had purposely added unneeded grandeur to passing down the throne of Coruscant. She even asked her if she overdid it on purpose, but she only got a chuckle in response.

Now, thousands of Coruscantis gathered around North Square, the wide and lengthy stone street in front of the Royal Palace that would serve as the walkway for Vervain as she walked, accompanied on either side by Keda and half-brother, Tano, who was a prince in his own right, toward the grand front steps, where she would be seated and crowned as Coruscant's new queen.

For a final time in the limo ride to North Square, the vehicle hovering silently just above the ground, Keda complimented Vervain on her dress, reaching across the way and placing a hand on hers. "You look beautiful in it, sister. Really."

"Thank you," the blonde said back, taking Keda's hand in hers and exhaling nervously.

"Don't worry," Tano assured her, his stiff and vacuous smile purposely easy to see through. "Coruscant loves you as it is; it's not as though you'll trip over your skirt and ruin your credibility."

Tano, being from his and Vervain's late fathers bloodline and not the latter's mother's bloodline, was never in line to become the monarch of Coruscant—though, he was still officially a prince due to being within the royal family. This weighed down on his ego significantly, and caused his relationship with his half-sister to turn sour very early-on.

"I hadn't been worried that I would, but thank you for your concern," Vervain said back evenly, making eye-contact despite her wish to gouge out the eyes she looked into—the worst shade of green one could wear, an unfortunate combination of their father's green and his mother's hazel, they hid behind them malice and none of the empathy or sympathy a Jedi had.

Tano was no Jedi, she knew; if not for him deciding to stay with the light side for the public eye's sake, he would be on the side of the very threat Vervain was being elevated to the throne to stop. She wouldn't mind, as jealously and spite were two detestable traits he housed within him and she could very well do without having to share a living arrangement with.

"Don't listen to him," Keda sand firmly, casting Tano a disapproving glare before turning her chocolate brown irises on the amber ones of her sister. "This is your day. Relish in it."

A smile crackled across the former princess's face, the warmth radiating in waves off of Keda effectively drowning out the cold from Tano. "I'll do my best," she said humbly, looking at the younger Ahnnalys through her eyelashes.

Keda was truly beautiful; her long dark blonde hair was always tied in some variation of a braid: be it fishtail, standard, multiple, or wrapped around her head to be out of her way, her sunshine locks were always braided, and always done by her older sister and never her three handmaidens. She had an interesting pointed, angular bone structure but round, puffy cheeks at the same time, which made for an expressive face that didn't need much reading before her emotions would get through to you.

Her handmaidens, though they didn't braid her hair as she didn't trust anyone's hands but those of Vervain with it, did their best to appease her in every way possible; they would jump off the ziggurat of the South Temple if it meant her happiness. She was kind and sweet, generous and forgiving, but still they managed to quiver when she approached them with a serious concern, always thinking they were about to be punished.

Not once were they.

As a queen, Vervain would receive two more handmaidens in addition to the three one gets with the status of princess, as a queen often required more assistance and tending-to than a princess did. She didn't find the addition necessary, and found the explanation untrue, but consented all the same as there was no way she was about to deny a centuries-old tradition for her personal wants. She wasn't selfish—not to the degree of denying two girls a paying job, anyway.

Once the trio felt the limo come to a stop, and felt, as well as heard, the presence of thousands of Jedi spaced out on either side of the pathway to the Palace, cheering and whooping and whistling for their new queen to come before them in her dress of flowing cream and ivory, embroidered with gold and sky blue designs in the shapes of leaves, they all shared expectant looks, and for one brief moment, Vervain _didn't_ detest Tano and wanted to hold his hand for support so she wouldn't fall over and crack her head open on the pavement.

But she somehow found the strength to resist this urge.

In one swift motion, Keda reached over and quickly placed Vervain's formal braid over her right shoulder, smiling at her as they exited the limousine together, Keda on the lady of honor's right and Tano on her left, both dressed in muted formal clothing as to not overshadow her.

As soon as they emerged, the crowd of thousands, expanding farther than the siblings had thought it would, erupted in cheers and praise. Keda and Tano fell a couple steps behind Vervain to give her the lead.

She felt a rush of blood to her cheeks and could only smile and wave nicely at the spectators, whom she would rule over in only minutes. _Rule over_ was a strong term to use; she felt as though she would be only higher ranking, not necessarily overpowering them.

A band played traditional Coruscanti celebration music as she walked straight-backed down North Square, the sun beating down on her and alighting her blonde hair and amber-caramel eyes, giving her a grand, angel-like appearance. Tano watched sourly from behind her, and Keda could only beam with pride.

Adjusting her glittering-in-the-sunlight armbands informally, Vervain finally reached the steps, on which a symbolic throne, only slightly different in design from the one on which she would be sitting within the Royal Palace, and her mother with her husband, Gails, King of Coruscant by marriage, on either side of it. She was gestured by her mother to climb the steps and take her seat, and so she did.

This vantage point was far different from the one she had whilst walking between both thick crowds of people. Her heart thudding hard against her ribcage, she pictured video of this on the HoloNet, news of it spreading throughout the Ten Realms. Though Coruscant had no known enemies outside of itself, she also pictured, for a moment, the hostile world of Jotunheim targeting her, its Ice Giants finding a way to Coruscant and killing—

_Stop that_, she snapped at herself, bringing her mind back to the present, the now. She remembered the words of a wise Jedi Master before her time—before even _her_ master's time—that she'd read in the Temple Archives whilst visiting the Central Temple, still a Padawan: _Until the possible becomes the actual, it is only a distraction_.

Master Qui-Gon Jinn was right when he said that, but what could stop her mind from racing to those thoughts, be them actual or possible? Nothing—except for this moment, as the crown, small yet meaningful, which was previously placed on a pedestal beside the throne, was lifted in the hands of Evanneis. Vervain's breath caught in her throat and her heart tripped as she remembered what was happening, the thoughts of Jotunheim and Ice Giants long gone.

"Vervain Ahnnalys," Evanneis began, her voice loud and clear so all could hear as they silenced, hidden devices used for echoing their voices making her louder. "Will you swear to promise to execute the office of Queen of Coruscant faithfully and with honor?"

"I solemnly swear so to do," Vervain said, her heartbeat quickening, her voice cracking on _do_, and the echo seeming to last forever.

"Do you solemnly promise, to the best of your ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Jedi Order, the people of Coruscant, and the traditions, customs, and beliefs for which they stand?"

Vervain took a deep breath, as she knew this was the final part of the oath. "I promise."

"Then I hereby declare you, Vervain Ahnnalys, from this day forward," The weight in Evanneis's voice, about to crack any moment, was palpable. "Jedi Queen of Coruscant."

With the weight of the glittering grown being lowered onto her head, Vervain could feel the awe of each person watching her, she could feel the pressure on her heart being lifted off like a sheet, and she could feel herself elevate to the same plain as King Odin, as any other leader of any of the other realms. Before today she'd been a Knight, a princess, things anyone could have been. But now, here, her status was risen to that above anyone else's.

She would be recognized universe-wide as the sole leader of Coruscant, she would hold the weight of her world on her shoulders like ornate shoulder plates crafted of pure gold and obsidian, she would hold the Force itself in her hands and be a monarch, a symbol, a queen to the Jedi. _Of _the Jedi.

Jedi Masters and High Council may there be, and whether she knew it or not, Vervain Ahnnalys was, now and for the remainder of her term, the most important person in Coruscant.

The nerves and light humor of the past days washed away as she stood, walking to the edge of the stairs and meeting the eyes of her sister and half-brother before looking out at the members of the crowd, who now began to applaud her.

"Long live the Queen!" a deep male voice called from near the front, pumping a fist in the air.

The blonde couldn't help but smile as his fellow spectators followed his lead, chanting his shout and cheering loudly.

She would be Queen of Coruscant for ten years.


End file.
